The Indianapolis Colts have had their ups and downs in quarterback Andrew Luck’s second NFL season, with the pattern largely based on Luck’s own play. The Cincinnati Bengals have also endured some hits, with QB Andy Dalton playing inconsistently in his own right. Yet both teams have overcome their respective adversity and achieved 8-4 records, with the victor of today’s 1pm EST / 10am PST showdown nabbing sole possession of the No. 3 playoff spot. The game’s being played in Cincinnati, where the Bengals are 5-0 this season, and the Bengals are favored in today’s showdown. If the CBS broadcast isn’t in your future, you can watch Colts vs Bengals live free online using one of several different tools.
Andrew Luck has led the Colts through some major games, including a home victory against the Broncos that marked Peyton Manning’s return to Indianapolis. No matter what the ratings guys say, though, today’s road game against the Bengals will be one of the Colts’ biggest tests. Ironically, the biggest factor may not be Cincinnati’s undefeated home record, nor the predicted snow. It may be the Colts themselves.
Indianapolis will be playing today without star wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who’s out for the season with a torn ACL, and opponents have slowed T.Y. Hilton in recent games by sending help over the top. On the ground, running back Trent Richardson was recently demoted to backup running back, a significant move if only because Richardson was supposed to save the Colts’ rushing game after the blockbuster trade earlier this season. But with Richardson failing to produce anything but drama, Donald Brown will start for the second straight week in a sign of the Colts desperation on the ground.
That doesn’t mean there’s no reason to not watch Colts vs Bengals live free online. With few other options but himself, Luck will have to improvise with the talent on hand. Against many teams that might work, but the Bengals have the sixth-ranked defense in the NFL and will undoubtedly be going right after Luck. Through 13 weeks, the Colts QB has been sacked 29 times. With his offensive line performing poorly of late, and with the Bengals defense nabbing 18 sacks during the past four weeks, Luck should make sure his equipment manager packs the Tide with bleach.
On the Bengals side of the ball, quarterback Andy Dalton has had his own miscues this season, but he’s statistically had a much better season than Luck. Through his 12 games Dalton has completed 266 of 433 passes for 3,144 yards and 22 touchdowns. Last week against the Chargers, Dalton took advantage of the Bengals’ ground game keeping the defense honest to produce some big plays. Against the Colts today, Cincinnati will no doubt try to establish the run game early again, thus buying Dalton time to sew together some big, sustained drives.
You can watch Colts vs Bengals live free online on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with MAX Package. The package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including today’s 1:00 pm EST / 10:00 am PST NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals.